Art and romance go hand in hand as far as we’re concerned. While we’ve been wandering around the Walker Art Gallery this week, we’ve found that you don’t have to go too far before you find some stunning paintings, sculptures and installations that explore or celebrate love. It’s certainly a romantic place to be.

While we were out of the office, we couldn’t resist trying on some of the new jewellery that’s just arrived in our online shop. There’s plenty of traditional hearts to choose from alongside tree, bird and leaf designs, which are a great alternative for valentine’s day.

Here are our top five romantic picks…

Katherine, from Exhibitions: ‘Cliff’ by David Hockney and an origami bird necklace

Karen, Online Shop Manager: ‘The Tinted Venus’ and a leaf necklace

It’s such an elegant sculpture to our eyes, but apparently ‘The Tinted Venus’ created a great deal of controversy when it was first shown in 1862. The detail in the draped cloth is amazing. I’ve gone for a leaf necklace for my top jewellery pick, because of the unusual ‘snake’ chain and the curving leaves with diamanté edging.

Yoko Ono’s ‘Sky Ladders’

Lucy, from the Media team: ‘Sky ladders’ by Yoko Ono and a heart necklace

An installation of ladders may not look very romantic, but if you look very closely when you’re in the gallery you might be able to see the ‘John loves Yoko’ message attached to Yoko’s ladder. In contrast to that unconventional love note, I’ve chosen a double heart necklace with a mix of silver and gold. It’s traditional, but pretty.

Lisa, from the Web team: ‘Dante and Beatrice’ and a bird necklace

There’s a lot going on in this painting, but at its heart is a story that sounds like an episode from a soap opera. Dante has been pretending not to love Beatrice by chasing other women – she’s heard the rumours and is not impressed. My top romantic gift is a silver bird necklace, I like the contemporary simplicity of the design.

So those are our favourites, but you can browse around the rest of the valentine’s day gifts in our online shop.